If You Think You Will Never Get Your House Clean

I remember a time when my house was never clean. I didn’t even have much of an excuse for it. I just figured I was a terrible housekeeper…and maybe it was my mom’s fault. She didn’t teach me what I needed to know before I got married. Surely, I could blame it all on her. {I’ve since figured out this about the lamest excuse in the book!}

The worst room in my house was ALWAYS the kitchen. I often tell the story of how I used to cover the dishes with a tea towel when we had company coming rather than simply WASHING the dishes. What was wrong with me?

I thought there was a magic formula to cleaning, and in actuality, you just have to do the work…and then do it again.

“Each and every cleaning task I do requires full cognitive awareness that I’m doing it. As a slob, I find this discouraging, but understanding this reality has helped me make progress in my home.” ~page 34

The problem with so many cleaning books and methods is that they never tell you it is hard work. Dana knows it is because she’s been there and she’s still there. Her blog name is A Slob Comes Clean, but that doesn’t mean she stays “clean” without any focused thought or energy! She (like me) will always tend toward messy and will always have to be “engaged” in the cleaning process to actually get it done.

HOWEVER…

Dana lays out some simple principles…things she calls nonnegotiables. They are the “have to’s” of managing a home. These are things she does not allow herself to CHOOSE to do – they HAVE TO be done – so making them nonnegotiables in her day prevents her from choosing to do them another day (i.e. never).

How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind isn’t a book about perfection – it’s reality-based cleaning and decluttering and managing your home. You don’t have to hold every piece of clutter you own and decide how you feel about it. You don’t have to write out humongous chore charts. You don’t have to have all of your ducks in a row. You just have to start. This book will give you that start, and the guidance to continue forward with the process. No judgement. No condemnation. No excuses.

I have known Dana for years…since the early years of her deslobification. This stuff is for real. It’s not some always-been-skinny person telling you how to diet. It’s someone who has been there – who still is there – telling you that you can do this! It’s not going to look the way you have envisioned it, but you have a friend holding your hand as you take unrealistic expectations and mold them into attainable goals.

Slowly, but surely, your messy house will become your home!

Would you like to talk more about Dana’s book and how to get your home in order? Buy the book HERE and send me a note via email or in the comments section below! I believe in you!

Sounds so good! Thank you for highlighting it. I can’t buy it now, but I am planning on getting it soon. Sounds like a soul sister :) I have 4 young kids and need some HELP and motivation and encouragement. I use a lot of the same excuses you mentioned. And I just listened to your podcast where you talked about a home blessing day and think that sounds like a great idea. We are moving soon and would love to begin next school year with a plan in place!

Honestly, everything Dana talks about in the book is also on her website, it’s just handy to have it all in one place. But I made huge progress in my home just by reading on her website! My house will never be magazine quality, but it’s peaceful to live in now, thanks to Dana.

Amy, I am excited to have found your blog. I quit reading (and writing my own blog) when google reader was phased out. I am hoping to get back on track and get my blog moving again and reading some new and relevant to my life material. Looking forward to reading your posts and I am grateful to have found Dana White at A Slob Comes Clean (I followed a link over here) because of your review of her book. Which, by the way… is changing my life!!!

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Just 11 short days after this photo was taken, our 5th child, Emily, died. To read her story click on her picture. To find resources for grieving families, visit The Grieving Mother section of this site.